Welcome The Night
by twipod
Summary: Leah/Sam, Leah/OC. Smeyer makes such a big deal about imprinting. What happens when an imprint is severed long before it should be. If one of those people is torn away from the other. Does anyone have any hope of saving the other from total destruction?
1. Landmines and Landslides

_This idea has been eating at me for a while, so I'm going to have a go at putting it on paper. SMeyer is all about the imprinting, but what happens if the imprint is taken away long before it should be? Can the other half of the severed bond be pulled back from the brink of total destruction. It will probably end up a Leah/Sam fic... we'll see how it plays out._

_**Spoilers/Setting: **_Post-Breaking Dawn, Potential BD spoilers.

_**Disclaimer:**_ Twilight and subsequent characters belong to S. Meyer. I'm just playing with them. Reviews are love.

_**Inspiration: **_Title is from The Atari's record of the same name, Welcome the Night Chapter title and cut is a track from Less Than Jake's record 'In With The Out Crowd' **Leah and Evan's hom****e**

**WELCOME THE NIGHT**

_**Chapter One : Landmines and Landslides**_

Leah woke up with a start. Her human senses might not have been as sharp as when she was a wolf, but they were still twice as strong as most people. They were certainly strong enough to hear someone in the bushes, even though their bedroom was on the second floor.

She slid noiselessly out of bed, not really worrying about waking her husband, Evan had always slept like a rock. Her concern now was for her family and on days like this she was glad that she hadn't given up the wolf completely.

After pulling on panties, she grabbed a cotton nightgown that wouldn't devastate her, on the off chance that she had to phase quickly. A glance confirmed that Evan was still sleeping and she cocked her head slightly, also confirming that what ever she heard earlier was still out there. More often than not it was a deer or other small animal, but Leah had seen too much in her life to leave the lives of people she loved in the hands of their gated community and fancy alarm system.

She padded down the hall, sticking her head first in the room with the princess nightlight, pink walls and cinderella sheets and then the second, decked out in the blues and greens of the Seattle Seahawks. Both children were sleeping soundly and even though their fair skin and light eyes made it obvious that they weren't her children by blood, she didn't doubt that the relief she felt would easily rival their biological mother.

When she reached the backdoor, she turned off the alarm before going outside, her senses on full alert for anything that could pose a threat. She heard the noise again, not hesitating to move in the direction it was coming from. Her first instinct was to phase, but if it was human? That could be difficult to explain. She heard the noise again, but this time it was louder and much more obvious and after a few moments she could clearly make out a shadow of a man. He was large - more than twice the size of Leah but even in human form she would have no trouble causing him significant pain.

Of course, even that would be hard to explain so she spoke first, quietly but firmly. "Do us both a favor and leave. I don't want to hurt anyone tonight." She got no response, but it didn't sound like he'd made a move to leave, either. "This is your last ..."

She didn't get a chance to finish her sentence before she saw the man stumble, maybe even fall to his knees. It was probably stupid but she rushed over toward him. It only took a few steps in his direction before a scent hit her, causing her to stop dead in her tracks and her heart to drop to the pit of her stomach.

"...Sam?" She asked tentatively.

Again, she got no response, but she didn't need one, she would know him anywhere.

She resumed moving toward him, crouching down beside him when she realized that he was close to collapsed on the ground. "Are you alright?" She asked him, a hand on the side of his face as she forced him to look at her. It was dark but her eyes were made for the dark. What she saw when she looked at him caused a wave of fear to wash over her. Sam was the strongest person that she knew ... well, not that she really knew him anymore, but right now... he looked awful.

He was naked, which didn't bother her, but let her know that he had been a wolf only moments before... and from the look of him, he'd run all the way from La Push, if not further. She didn't understand it, Seth had stayed, even after Leah and Sue left and though he wasn't a member of Sam's pack anymore they worked together constantly... if something happened, he would have told her.

And then she remembered the calls that she'd ignored during the birthday dinner for Evan's mother. The calls she'd ignored while putting the kids to bed. The calls she'd meant to return before getting distracted and ending up naked and tangled with her husband. The calls which would probably explain Sam, Sam who she hadn't seen in almost five years, showing up in her backyard looking like hell.

Finally he spoke, though it was quiet and choked and more broken than she had _ever _heard him.

"She's dead."

Leah didn't need to ask who he was talking about.


	2. Break Myself

_This chapter doesn't really advance the plot, but it was necessary to explain how we got to where we are _

_**Spoilers/Setting: **_Post-Breaking Dawn, Potential BD spoilers.

_**Disclaimer:**_ Twilight and subsequent characters belong to S. Meyer. I'm just playing with them. Reviews are love.

_**Inspiration: **_Title is from The Atari's record of the same name, Welcome the Night Chapter title and cut is a track from Something Corporates's record 'North' **Leah and Evan's hom****e**

**WELCOME THE NIGHT**

_**Chapter Two : Break Myself**_

Leah had given up on men seven years ago. She was tired of them abandoning her; first Sam, then her father, then Jacob...

She'd left La Push six years ago. First Jacob left with the Cullens, then Seth imprinted on a girl that Leah still didn't like, even if her brother was disgustingly happy. Sam and Emily, then Jared and Kim, then Paul and Rachel, all got married in a space of about three months, but the final straw had been meeting Liam, Emily and Sam's beautiful baby boy. She'd left the day after he was born and had been back to La Push exactly once, a year later, for his first birthday party. It had been too much though, watching a life that should have been hers, played out before her eyes.

Seattle was the first place she called home after La Push. She didn't give up the wolf, the extra strength, the heightened senses, she'd become accustomed to it and she couldn't find herself willing to give it up. Seattle was the place she met Evan. The man who would one day become her husband. The man whose nose she'd accidently broken the first time they met.

Leah had taken up about every form of martial arts and yoga that was offered in Seattle. She was used to being able to run whenever she was feeling tense or anxious but when you lived in a studio apartment in the middle of the city, turning into a giant wolf wasn't exactly convenient. She took mixed classes, because even when she was careful with her strength, she was stronger than any woman and it was harder to just blend in.

It had been a particularly bad day for her when Evan was unfortunate enough to be her sparing partner. A misplaced roundhouse kick had connected with his face, his nose ending up at an angle that reminded her of when her pack would fight... except this boy wouldn't heal in a few minutes.

She felt awful, she'd driven him to the ER, bought him coffee... and apparently he'd been intrigued by her exotic beauty and the fact that she'd been able to kick his ass because he _let _her. And then he offered to buy her dinner.

Leah had never spent more than one night with a boy outside of La Push. She was dead against falling in love and the fact of the matter was that there was really just too much to explain. The heat of her skin was one of those things. The first time Evan had mentioned it, he hadn't asked if there was something wrong with her, he'd told her that her heat was refreshing in such a cold place. And he hadn't just been talking about her body temperature.

He was ten years, three months and 12 days older than her, but that mattered as much as the fact that she ran ten degrees hotter than him. He was a lawyer, working out of Seattle, from a very good family, looking to start his own practice. Leah knew that if he could fall for a girl taking business classes at community college, who lived in a studio walk up, in the bad neighbourhood, then they could get over the age thing.

They fell in love. It wasn't the aching, burning love that she'd felt for Sam, it wasn't what the others described as the universal pull of imprinting but it _was _love. It was human and it was hard work but for Leah it was almost a relief. It was _normal_.

He'd told her on their second date that he'd just gotten divorced. That he had two children. A little girl, barely two years old and a little boy almost four. That his ex-wife, his high school sweetheart had it off with his step brother. Leah had almost laughed at the irony. On the same date she told him she could never have children. They had baggage, but they laid it out and that was a strange feeling for Leah.

Well, except for the baggage marked 'werewolf', but that wasn't really her decision to make.

Four years ago Leah moved in with him and the two children he had joint custody over. Three years, six months ago, Evan's ex-wife moved to New York, leaving him with sole custody of the children. It was around that time that Jasmine, his little girl, called her 'Mommy'.

Three years ago they moved to a gated community in Vancouver, a family home, the kind Leah had only ever seen in movies, with rather extensive woodlands at their doorstep, though the reason his wife was so insistent on that, Evan still isn't sure. He started his own practice in Portland and Leah ran his office. She couldn't cook, she didn't clean but she could knock over the books quicker and more efficiently than any big city accountant.

Two years, nine months ago, Evan asked Leah to marry him. She said no.

Two years, seven months ago, Evan's son called her 'Mom'. She told Evan to ask her again. This time she said yes.

Two years ago they got married.

Leah Clearwater-Holland had the perfect life. It had taken awhile to get there, more heartbreak than she would wish on anyone.

The was only one thing. One thing she couldn't cover over with the perfect life.

That one thing was _here _and he was broken and he was looking at her like she was the only thing that could save him.

And she knew she would still do absolutely anything to try.


	3. What Sarah Said

_Continuation of what may or may not become a fully fledged Leah/Sam fic. Sam shows up broken in Leah's new life. Even after all those years and everything they've been through, he's still the one person she can't turn away from. She's about to find out just how much she's willing to give up for him. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this chapter... I'm worried that it was too much... I guess we'll see! Reviews are love. _

_**Spoilers/Setting: **_Post-Breaking Dawn, Potential BD spoilers.

_**Disclaimer:**_ Twilight and subsequent characters belong to S. Meyer. I'm just playing with them. Reviews are love.

_**Inspiration: **_Title is from The Atari's record of the same name, Welcome the Night Chapter title and cut is a track from Death Cab for Cuties record 'PLANS' **Leah and Evan's hom****e**

**WELCOME THE NIGHT**

_**Chapter Three: What Sarah Said**_

Last time, it was five words that fell from his mouth, that ruined her life as she knew it.

_"I can't be with you"_

This time, even if she didn't know it yet, all it would take was two.

_"She's dead"._

Leah almost collapsed down beside him.

Regret. Grief. Fear.

Regret that she'd spent the last eight years avoiding a girl who had been as good as her sister for the first twenty of her life.

Grief that someone she loved so much was gone.

Fear that he wouldn't make it through this.

She wanted to fall apart but she knew that he needed her, that he'd come here for a reason and that she had to be strong.

"Can you control yourself?" It sounded like a stupid question, but while she would do almost anything for him, she wouldn't risk her family by letting him inside her home if he was going to phase on her. When a weak nod was all she got in response she believed him, helping him to his feet and inside, where she took him straight to the guest room, thankful that Seth kept clothes here on the off chance he decided to pay a visit.

It wasn't until she flipped the light on that she saw the damage. She didn't even bother trying to hide the gasp that escaped her lips, though she supposed she shouldn't have been that surprised. His skin was stained with dry blood, a few wounds still healing on his arm and shoulder, but mostly they were just faded pink scars now. "What happened?" She whispered as she sat him down on the bed and got him a blanket.

He didn't answer for a while and she didn't push him, instead going to get him some water and a damp washcloth to at least get some of the blood off - the latter he pushed away. So she sat there, beside him, letting him tell her without words what he needed, because it was safer for everyone that way.

Eventually, he got up. He didn't say anything to her, just got up and went into the bathroom. Leah sighed when she heard the shower running and collected some clothes for him, leaving them on the bed and going to the kitchen to call Seth. She got his machine and left a message asking him what the hell happened. She had felt Sam come into the room but she hadn't expected him to speak.

"It was a vampire."

Leah closed her eyes at the sound of his voice. If it had sounded bad before, it was a thousand times worse now. He sounded hollow. Like there was nothing left inside, nothing of _h__er _Sam there anymore and from what she knew about imprinting, it probably wasn't that far from the truth.

"One was wandering too close to the reservation for comfort. We killed it just before it took some campers."

Leah frowned, really hoping that they hadn't pissed off an entire coven by killing that vampire - that hadn't turned out so well for them in the past. Sam seemed to pick up on her concern, shaking his head and looking at the ground.

"There was just two of them, but we didn't know about the second one until..." Grief and pain seemed to steal his words as he struggled to find a way to finish that without a stabbing reminder. "Until last night."

A mate for a mate.

Leah's gaze joined Sam's on the plush carpet near their feet, unable to take the pain that was etched into his face. Hot tears brushed her cheeks but she wiped them away quickly.

"What about..."

She didn't need to finish the sentence before Sam interrupted her with the answer. "He's safe."

Even that didn't really make her feel any better.

Again, she couldn't find words, she wasn't sure there were any in this situation, all she could think to ask was whether they got the leech that... and she knew the answer to that just by looking at him. He'd probably gone alone and the vampire probably couldn't have asked for a worse death.

So they sat there, in silence... in _mourning_... on the couch that Leah loved, but had refused to buy because it had been ridiculously expensive. Of course, Evan had been there with her, so it was delivered to their home the next day.

She was deep in thought about how she was going to explain this to her husband - a modified version of the truth would probably be the easiest way - when Sam grabbed onto her wrist, harder than he meant to, she realized, because it immediatley loosened. Any pain she might have felt though was forgotten when he looked her dead in the eye... and dead was an appropriate word. It was the first time he'd looked at her since he arrived and she almost wished he didn't. It did nothing short of break her heart.

Of course if the way he looked at her broke her heart, what he said ripped it out completely.

"I can't live like this."

If anyone else had of been in the room, they wouldn't have heard it, but every word burned Leah's ears.

"Help me be with her." Apparantley the look on her face reflected her answer because when he spoke again it was nothing short of begging. "I don't care how. I can't do it on my own. You're the only one..."

Leah stood up. She'd been worried about _him _phasing but now she was the one who was trembling. "I'm the only one who can help you kill yourself!?" She said angrily. It was an advantage of being a werewolf, she could yell at him without even raising her voice. She slapped him and she slapped him _hard _but the only recognition he paid was dropping his gaze again, though the fact that he looked at least a little ashamed made her feel a tiny bit better.

"You're a fucking selfish coward, Sam." She said harshly. They were two words that everyone who knew him would probably never use to describe him, but then, Leah had always been privy to a side of Sam that no one else had ever seen. "You have a _child_. A child who just lost his mother and you want to take away his father too?" She realized then that maybe she'd underestimated the power of imprinting just a little. Or she was right and he genuinely was a coward. "Emily was the most forgiving person I ever met, but she wouldn't even forgive _you _if you did that to Liam." That was something that Leah was sure of.

"You're going to go back to the guest room, I'm going to make you a sandwich, you're going to eat it and then you're going to get some sleep. And try and leave before I say you can and you'll have to kill me to get past the property line." She wondered for a split second if he would be desperate enough to do it. To kill her in an attempt to get the others to take his life. She shook the thought away because she didn't really believe it.

He hadn't said anything, but he looked even more broken than he had a few minutes ago. Like his last hope had been stolen.

"I'm sorry." He whispered, and it took all of Leah's strength not to break down. When he stood up and took her hand, leading her to the bedroom she didn't hesitate, not even when he lay down on the bed, pulling her so tightly against him that if she had of been human he may have broken her in two. She knew that everything about her, from her heated skin to the scent of her shampoo was probably reminding him that she _wasn't _Emily and maybe she should have been mad, because she knew that right now he was doing everything he could to block out all of that and find any trace of his wife, his Emily, in her, but selfishly she let him because _this _was maybe the most bittersweet moment of her life.

It reminded her of the first night he'd come back after disappearing for two weeks. She knew now where he'd been but at the time all she knew was that he was home and he was safe. He'd snuck in through her window and she could tell straight away that he was scared and unsure of what was going to happen, but he'd held her and she'd thought that maybe she was enough to make him think whatever it was that was bothering him would be okay.

And sure, this was different; she wasn't sure how she was going to explain being in bed with a large, half naked man to her husband, who was asleep upstairs, or whether she wanted her children to be around him like this, but she wanted to think that right now she was holding him back from the brink of total destruction. Tonight that was enough, tomorrow she would deal with everything else.

Tomorrow she would try to be enough for him _this _time.


	4. Several Ways To Die Trying

_Thank you to everyone who has left reviews. It's one thing to know that people are looking at your story, but to know that they're enjoying it really makes my day :)_

_**Spoilers/Setting: **_Post-Breaking Dawn, Potential BD spoilers.

_**Disclaimer:**_ Twilight and subsequent characters belong to S. Meyer. I'm just playing with them. Reviews are love.

_**Inspiration: **_Title is from The Atari's record of the same name, Welcome the Night Chapter title and cut is a track from Dashboard Confessional's record 'A Mark. A Mission. A Brand. A Scar.' Leah and Evan's home

**WELCOME THE NIGHT**

_**Chapter Four : Several Ways to Die Trying**_

The sun was up by the time Leah was convinced that Sam had finally fallen asleep. She untangled herself from him and went out into the kitchen; the smell of coffee gave away the fact that Evan was up.

"Hey." She greeted him, a hand brushing his arm gently as she went to pour herself a cup. Caffeine did nothing significant when you had werewolf metabolism, but it was a habit. A_normal_ thing to do.

Evan followed her and when she had the cup between her hands, he put his own on her hips and kissed her neck softly. "You know, it takes a pretty amazing husband to find his wife in bed with a half naked man and not shoot him." His tone was playful, letting her know he wasn't angry but that he wanted more information.

Leah looked down at the cup in her hands and spoke softly. "That's Sam... Emily's husband." She had spoken about Emily before, the girls still spoke on the phone, Leah had spoken to Liam on his birthday every year... "She passed away last night."

The smile faded from Evan's face and he took her coffee cup from her, putting it on the bench before turning her in his arms and pulling her close against his chest. "I'm sorry." He whispered against her hair. It was different that being held by Sam, he wasn't as strong, certainly not as warm and she was only an inch or two shorter than Evan but still, this was what she had become used to. This was home now.

She let herself cry against his chest. She didn't have to be brave or strong in front of Evan, she could be broken over the fact that her cousin, a girl who had been her bestfriend for so long, was gone. She could be the Leah that the man in front of her knew which was, ironically, more real than the tough facade that Sam had come to know.

"Is there anything I can do?" He asked, when her body stopped shaking. She looked up at him and shook her head. "I don't know what _I'm _going to do. I'm so worried about him." She didn't tell him exactly why she was worried, he would probably assume the loss of his wife was enough. "Actually... do you think you could take the kids to your Mom's today?" Despite what he said, Leah still wasn't sure she had enough confidence in Sam's emotional stability, or even her own, to have them in the same house.

Evan nodded, stroking her hair softly before kissing her on the forehead. "I'll go wake them up now."

Leah took her cup of coffee and went to sit on the sofa. She'd only been there a minute when Sam came into the room; he had a shirt on this time, she noticed. "You're happy." He said, sitting down on the chair beside her.

She assumed he'd been eavesdropping and meant happy in the general sense of the term, because she was so far from happy right now..."You say that like you're surprised." He voice was barely above a whisper, she wasn't sure she felt comfortable talking about how happy she was when Emily was gone. Then again, at least he was _talking_.

He didn't respond, just gave her a pointed look and she understood where he was coming from. Even after she left his pack she hadn't exactley been a ray of sunshine.

"Evan's a good man." Guilt still had her avoiding his gaze.

"Do you love him?"

That caused her to look up, surprise etched on her face. She didn't know what his point was, or if he was just making conversation, but she nodded. "Yes."

They sat there in silence for a while, Leah listening to what was happening upstairs and making a mental list of things she'd have to pack for them. She heard the phone ring but let it go, really not in the mood for talking to anyone. Sam reached out then and took her hand, pulling her up against him and she let him, partly because she was still in need of a little comfort herself.

She hadn't realized that she'd fallen asleep for a few moments until Evan came to the entry way, the look on his face a little less understanding than it had been before. "Can I talk to you for a second?" He said, looking at Sam before back to his wife.

Leah moved to get up but as she stood up, Sam grabbed her arm. "That's not a good idea." He told her.

Aside from being a little pissed at him for being all Alpha, Leah didn't think twice about it. It was his job to recognize situations that held potential danger and she could feel waves of tension radiating off Evan, so she was sure that Sam could too.

What she didn't think about was how it looked from Evan's point of view. Sam had grabbed her arm, hard enough to bruise, though any mark would be gone in moments and it hadn't _hurt_... but had Sam of just grabbed a normal girl's arm like that, he probably would have broken it... and to Evan that's exactly what she was. Not to mention Sam had just told her no, something that Leah had never let Evan get away with.

Evan put himself in between her and Sam and even though Evan was a good 6'1" it was just hard to look impressive or threatening against the other man.

"Whatever you're thinking of doing now, also isn't a good idea." Sam said to the other man, quite calmly though there was a dangerous edge to his voice.

Evan looked pissed. "Look, I'm sorry about what happened, but if you think it gives you the right to come into my home and _threaten _..."

Leah stepped in between them, and pushed Evan back gently. "Baby, he didn't mean..."

Evan shook his head. "Should I be surprised that you're sticking up for him?"

She didn't get a chance to answer him before he walked out of the room. She glared at Sam and hated that she immediately felt guilty for it, but she followed Evan, finding him on his office. She was mad but she knew that yelling at him wasn't going to get them anywhere. "Evan..."

"Seth called." He told her, not needing her to ask him what was wrong.

"Oh." Leah still wasn't exactly sure why that had changed his opinion on Sam.

"Would you be married to him right now, if it weren't for Emily?"

Okay. That explained it.

"Because you left out the part where he's your high school sweetheart."

Leah sighed, she really didn't want to get into a fight over this, especially since Sam would be able to hear every word. "I haven't seen Sam in over five years, I really didn't think that it was relevant."

Evan started to straighten his desk - a habit he had to channel anger and Leah knew it. She also knew that anger was something Evan didn't have a lot of, so he must have been really uncomfortable with this situation. "It became relevant the moment he came into my home." He told her.

"This is _our _home, Evan." Leah said, trying to keep her voice flat and calm. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you that Sam and I used to date, there were other things on my mind."

"You didn't answer my question." He said quietly.

Leah shook her head in frustration. "Does it matter?"

"His wife just died, Leah, why do you think he's here?"

She left the room immediately, closing the door hard behind her, but not just because she was mad, because she knew Sam would have heard every word.

Sure enough, Leah found him in the hallway heading in the direction that she'd just come from, his whole body vibrating in anger. It took all of Leah's strength but she pushed him into the bathroom, locking the door behind them.

"You need to control yourself, my children are this house." He outranked her in the wolf world, but the tone of her voice held more threat than Sam had probably ever heard directed against him. She was the Alpha in this house. Surprisingly, it seemed to work as his body relaxed.

"You can't be mad at him." Leah said softly. "He doesn't know the whole story."

Any relief that Leah had felt when she saw Sam looking a little brighter, just a half hour ago, was gone. He was back to looking like his whole world was gone.

They couldn't stay here and Evan wouldn't like what she was going to do, but she had to have faith that they were stronger than that. "Go wait outside, I'll be out soon." She told Sam.

They couldn't deal with this from here. Leah got dressed and called Seth before knocking on the door to Evan's office. She opened it and walked over to him sliding onto his lap and sighing softly. He was a little hostile at first but it never took long for him to give into her and his gaze met hers. "I love you." She whispered before brushing her lips against his. He ran a hand through her hair and deepened the kiss a little before pulling away, though his lips remained only inches from hers.

"You're going aren't you?" He didn't sound mad but he clearly wasn't thrilled with the idea either.

"I have to." She told him, a hand resting on the side of his neck. "Just for a few days. He can't do this alone and Liam... I don't even know if anyone's told him..."

Evan sighed, but nodded. "Do what you have to do. We'll be here when you get back."

Leah smiled at him, kissing him passionatley before getting off his lap. She said goodbye to Jasmine and Andrew and packed a bag for herself. Keys in hand, she went out to where Sam was waiting. "Come on."

"Where are we going?" He asked her almost cautiously.

She threw her bag in the trunk of the black SUV. "The Rez." She replied with a resigned sigh.

Sam hesitated, but then got in. "You drive a soccer mom car."

Leah smiled a little but didn't say anything, just started the car and took his warm hand in her own as she headed for route five and the six hour journey that would take them home.


	5. At Full Speed

_Thank you to everyone who has left reviews. It's one thing to know that people are looking at your story, but to know that they're enjoying it really makes my day :)_

_**Spoilers/Setting: **_Post-Breaking Dawn, Potential BD spoilers.

_**Disclaimer:**_ Twilight and subsequent characters belong to S. Meyer. I'm just playing with them. Reviews are love.

_**Inspiration: **_Title is from The Atari's record of the same name, Welcome the Night Chapter title and cut is a track from the Jack's Mannequin EP 'In Valleys.' Leah and Evan's home

**WELCOME THE NIGHT**

_**Chapter Five : At Full Speed**_

Leah hated black, she always had. When she was a teenager, it was because white and bright colors looked better against her russet skin, but when her father died it had become more - a bad memory.

Of course she hadn't even made it to her fathers funeral. She'd only gotten to the car before Sam told her she shouldn't go. He was right, but at the time she'd gotten so mad, that she phased and tried to rip his throat out. She hadn't been very successful, but he'd prevented her from phasing in front of the entire reservation. He'd been there for her, even though she'd made his life a living hell over it for a good three months afterward.

So she was wearing black, for him and for Emily, because it was her turn to be there for him.

She'd been back in La Push five days now and things really hadn't gotten any better. One arm was holding up Liam who was curled around her upper body, his face buried in her shoulder, while her other hand was gripping Sam's so tightly that bones would probably get broken, but they were easy to fix.

Broken hearts and broken families, Leah was learning, were harder.

She had been staying in the house she grew up in, the house that now belonged to Seth, his wife Dana and their two year old daughter. Leah's room hadn't changed much, it just looked more like a guest room now, rather than a room belonging to a teenage girl. Not that it really mattered what it looked like, since she'd given up her bed every night to a six year old.

Liam wasn't speaking to anyone except Leah, not even Sam, and she knew that Sam didn't know what to do. So he was doing what their instincts told them to do. He'd drop Liam off when he wouldn't eat, or wouldn't sleep and Sam would phase and run and not come back until the sun had risen, taking Liam's place in her bed.

Leah hadn't really slept. She had planned (and paid for, though she was yet to mention that to Sam) a funeral and a wake. She'd taken Liam to school and picked him up everyday before lunch, because he kept telling his teacher he was sick. She'd made sure that both boys were fed and laundry was done and just yesterday she'd left before dawn and driven to Vancouver and back so she didn't miss Andrew's little league final.

She was exhausted, emotionally and physically, but the hardest thing for her was to see that Sam hasn't snapped out of it yet, and the more time that passed, the more she worried that he wouldn't.

The service ended and once again everyone seemed to look to Leah for what to do, which was kind of ironic, since before she left La Push most people had been happy to avoid her. The wake was at Seth's and despite her best efforts it was still depressing, so when Sam was distracted and Liam was with his grandmother, Leah slipped out back, settling herself on the steps and not really caring that it was raining on her.

Leah heard someone coming before the door opened and she quickly wiped away the tears that brushed her cheeks.

"Mom would probably yell at you for being out here in the rain."

She sighed, acknowledging her brother but not looking at him. "I wish Mom was here." She said quietly, though she expected her mother would never attend another funeral in her life.

"Well." Seth said, sitting down beside her. "_I_ can tell you what I think you should do."

Leah made a sound somewhere between a laugh and a scoff. "Go on then, impart your wisdom on me." She said, finally looking at him.

"Stay." He said simply.

This time Leah did laugh. "Right, because there's so much for me in La Push."

"I'm here!" He said indignantly. "You'd be closer to mom and..." He seemed to hesitate just a little. "Even if he would never say it, Sam wants you to stay."

Leah rolled her eyes. "If Sam wants me to stay, it's only because he doesn't know what to do with Liam right now."

Seth sighed. "Whatever Leah, but just remember which one of us shares his thoughts." He went back inside, leaving Leah alone with what he'd said and a wish that her brother had never gone back to Sam's pack.

She was sitting there for a good half hour before she heard the door again, surprised that she hadn't heard whoever it was approaching, but as little arms wrapped around her neck and Liam crawled onto her lap, she knew why she hadn't heard his quiet footsteps. "You shouldn't be out here, especially not in the rain." She whispered with a smile, though she wasn't too worried as she pulled him close against her sharing her extra body heat.

"I want Mommy's cookies." He said, looking up at her with wide browns eyes that were exactly like his fathers. Eyes that Leah was totally unable to say no to. "The ones inside are gross."

Leah brushed some jet black hair off the little boys face. "Honey, I don't..." She didn't cook, she _couldn't_ cook, no matter how much every woman in her family had tried to teach her it had just never taken, but could she say no to him? "Well, what if we went home and we could try and bake some? They probably won't taste like Mommy's though." He nodded and Leah couldn't help but think that he really just wanted to get out of there and if he was going to give her a reason to leave, she wasn't going to say no.

More than two hours later, Leah was actually laughing and Liam was laughing with her. There was flour _everywhere_, three failed batches of cookies on the counter and a fourth which were actually edible, in a bowl in her lap. She and Liam were sitting together with their backs against the counter, on the floor, not really caring that they were sitting in the middle of their huge mess.

"Aunt Leah," Liam said, with a mouthful of cookie. "These aren't as good as Mommy's, but you tried your best and Mommy always told me that was the important part."

Leah smiled at him, looking up toward the doorway when she heard the front door. "I think Daddy's home." She told him, waiting to see if Sam would actually come in. When he did, Leah grinned at him and Liam jumped up, ready to offer him a cookie until they noticed the look on his face.

"What are you doing?" He asked, looking around the kitchen.

"We made cookies, Dad..." Liam told him, offering him one and Leah's eyes widened a little. It was the first time he'd spoken to Sam since they'd told him that Mommy wouldn't be coming home.

"Liam, go to your room." Sam said firmly and when his son went to argue, it only took a look for him to disappear.

Leah pulled herself up off the floor and glared at him, though before she could ask him what the hell that was, he closed a good portion of the distance between them and she could feel the anger radiating off him. For once she was totally confused by him.

"I asked you a question." He said to her in a low voice.

"And your son told you." She shot back, not cowering under his gaze, even though he was towering over her right now and every instinct told her to submit to him.

"You think you can just come in here and ... this is _her_ kitchen." His voice was barely above a whisper but the way he spoke, he may as well have been screaming at her.

She felt bad, the last thing she wanted was to step over what was a very fine line, but she had done this for Liam and that meant more to her than Sam and his over reacting. "Liam _laughed_, Sam." She told him, trying not to get too mad at him. "He laughed for the first time since I got here and not only that, he spoke about Emily and he was HAPPY. You could learn a thing or two from him." Maybe she was being a little harsh, but if Sam was going to take it out on Liam then she was going to give it to him.

"You have no idea what you're talking about." He said dangerously and she would swear that he just made himself even taller. "You need to get out of my house."

Leah was mad, but she also knew that now was the time to leave, he would never forgive himself if he hurt Liam and he was getting very close to that line of anger. So she left and used all the self control she had not to slam the door behind her. She called Seth so that he could come and offer to take Liam for a few hours, since she couldn't leave the kid there by himself but knew very well that she wasn't welcome.

When he agreed, it only took her a minute to head to a secluded part of the forest, strip down and phase, knowing that the hot tears that threatened to spill would disapear once the raw emotion of her wolf took over.

For now, at least.


	6. Sound Effects and Overdramatics

_Thank you to everyone who has left reviews. It's one thing to know that people are looking at your story, but to know that they're enjoying it really makes my day :)_

_**Spoilers/Setting: **_Post-Breaking Dawn, Potential BD spoilers.

_**Disclaimer:**_ Twilight and subsequent characters belong to S. Meyer. I'm just playing with them. Reviews are love.

_**Inspiration: **_Title is from The Atari's record of the same name, Welcome the Night Chapter title and cut is a track from the Jack's Mannequin EP 'In Valleys.' Leah and Evan's home

**WELCOME THE NIGHT**

_**Chapter Six: Sound Effects and Overdramatics**_

Almost a month and Leah hadn't heard from Sam. She'd given him three days after he'd told her to get out and when he hadn't spoken to her, she'd left him a note telling him she couldn't stay and she'd gone home. She had a family and despite the fact that every instinct in her body told her that he _needed_ her right now, she refused to hang around and wait for him, she wasn't that girl anymore.

Except there was a part of her that would always be that girl. Not necessarily the bitter, broken hearted one, but the one who loved Sam, the one who would do absolutely anything for him, she had never really left.

She also knew Evan had noticed and she suspected that he was waiting for her to talk to him, but that wasn't going to happen. There were things she couldn't tell him and without those things she knew that nothing she said would do anything but upset him.

Eventually he got sick of waiting and one night when Leah was curled up in front of their fireplace with a book, he came and sat beside her, pulling her against him. She didn't put her book down but she did try to relax against him. She wasn't terribly successful.

"What happened in La Push?" He asked her quietly, tucking some long midnight hair behind her ear.

"Nothing," She said so quickly that she didn't even believe it herself, so she put her book down and turned to face him, her lips brushing his. "Nothing." She repeated, much more convincing, though she worried her moment had past.

He was smarter than that. He sighed, a hand on the side of her face as he dropped his gaze. "Did something happen with him?"

That got Leah off his lap. She was angry now, angry that he would suggest something like that, angry that Sam had told her to leave and angry at her self because deep down, maybe just a little, she wished something had of happened. "No." She said firmly. "And I can't believe you would ask me something like that."

"You know what, Leah?" He said, shaking his head, almost in disappointment. "I didn't even mean it like that, but you can't tell me you've been the same since you've gotten back."

Nothing he said really did anything to disolve her anger. "They're my _family_ Evan, they're falling apart and Sam won't let me help him so yeah, maybe I haven't been the same but tell me, tell me how I'm supposed to just get up and move on and I'll be happy to do it."

Evan wasn't angry and that was just making Leah even more angry. He spoke calmly, though there was clearly hurt in his voice. "We're your family too, Leah, just remember that... if he doesn't want you in his life, I'm sorry, but don't lose the people who do because of it."

Another month and things really didn't change. Seth had called a few times, begging her to come home because 'Sam felt bad' and he was 'Sorry' and 'Angry at himself for what he did' ... and he was taking it all out on the rest of the pack. Leah didn't budge though. If Sam wasn't going to talk to her, then she had no intention of making the first move.

The problem with that was, that doing nothing was eating away at her. She felt guilty and it was obvious. Things with Evan hadn't gotten better, if anything they'd just gotten worse. They had fought more in the past two months than in the preceding five years and even Andrew and Jasmine had been acting differently toward her.

It was two weeks before Christmas when Evan came in while she was working, looking like he was preparing to say something he didn't want to. "We're going to go spend the holidays in Los Angeles, I want to take the kids somewhere warm."

Leah looked up at him and then back down at the paper in front of her, surprised that he hadn't mentioned this to her. "Evan I don't know if I can just pick up and leave..." Not somewhere that was so far away from Sam.

"I didn't mean you." He said quietly, though he added quite quickly. "You need some time to sort out whatever it is that's going on with you and you obviously can't do it with us here... Our flight leaves in a few hours so, we're gonna go." He looked guilty.

So he should. Leah got up from her chair and shook her head. "So you're taking the children and you're leaving for the holidays... and you tell me five minutes before you go!?" She wasn't sure whether to be hurt or angry.

"I'm doing this because I love you Leah and I just want you to be happy." He leaned in to kiss her but she pulled away. Evan sighed. "I'll call you when we get there."

As soon as the car pulled out of the driveway, she got in her own, driving until she got to the stretch of woods that would let her run, _really_ run. Up the entire coast if she really wanted to.

She shouldn't have been surprised by where she found herself when she finally stopped. She knew exactly where she was, not more than 20 miles outside of La Push. She was still angry, it was easier to channel in this form but she could still feel it and it was all directed at herself.

Leah was well aware that she was the one to blame, for her situation at home in the very least, but she didn't know what else to do. Old feelings were being pushed to the surface, feelings that she thought were completely buried. But what she really hated was that once again, Sam wanted nothing more than for her to just go away.

She wasn't paying attention to where she was going, she didn't notice when she crossed over into their territory and she didn't notice the wolf that was running the border. Not until she was on the ground underneath him. She yelped and snapped at him and the instant he realized who it was he backed off. She almost ran back in the other direction when _she_saw who it was. She settled for a growl instead.

Leah knew that he hadn't meant to attack her, but she now had a potential outlet for anger. He was bigger and stronger and probably wouldn't even fight her, but she needed it right now, so she did it anyway. She ran at the black wolf, fast and hard and it was probably shock that stopped him from getting out of her way. Her teeth met the hard flesh of his shoulder and she tasted blood. She let go quickly, but didn't back away fast enough, a strong paw, clearly intended to just remove her, instead, met her upper body and she howled with pain as sharp claws ripped through skin and muscle. Blood stained her grey fur but it stopped after just a few moments.

The look on his face was telling her to stop, but she wasn't in his head anymore, he couldn't _make_ her... well, not in wolf form anyway and she barked at him in frustration when he phased back, because they both knew she wouldn't attack him in his human form.

She took a minute to calm down enough to follow suit and phase back. If she couldn't attack him, then she was sure as hell going to yell at him instead.


End file.
